Nick Gonzales might be a rookie, but his bat has been coming through in the clutch like a veteran this season.
Recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on May 10, the Pittsburgh Pirates infielder has become an important part of the lineup in the 61 games he has played. He leads the team with eight game-winning RBIs.
The Pirates will be hoping for more of the same when they host the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday in the second of a three-game set, with an eye on clinching the series.
Gonzales’ bat produced the deciding run in a 2-1 victory on Monday, connecting for an eighth-inning single to drive in Bryan Reynolds. It was the second time in four days he did so: On Friday, he delivered a single in the ninth to lift Pittsburgh to a walk-off win against the Philadelphia Phillies.
“I think my heartbeat is going pretty good in those moments,” Gonzales said. “I try to slow it down, but I think that just kind of gets me a little more locked in. I definitely try to slow it down and not try to do too much.”
The 25-year-old is riding a five-game hitting streak and has at least one hit in 13 of the 17 games he has played in July.
A win on Tuesday would move the Pirates, who have won nine of their past 11, into a tie with the Cardinals for second place in the National League Central.
“Every win’s great, but especially against a division rival,” said pitcher Mitch Keller, who started on Monday. “These are games we need to win.”
Pittsburgh will have the strong arm of rookie Paul Skenes (6-0, 1.90 ERA) leading the way. The right-hander didn’t allow a run on five hits and fanned eight across 6 1/3 innings his first career appearance against St. Louis on June 11.
In his most recent official start, Skenes fired seven no-hit innings and fanned 11 in a 1-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on July 11. Skenes then started the All-Star Game for the National League on July 16 and fired one scoreless inning.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Lance Lynn (5-4, 4.39 ERA). The veteran is 7-8 with a 5.34 ERA in 25 career games (23 starts) against Pittsburgh. He went 4 1/3 innings against the Pirates on June 13, surrendering three runs on four hits, striking out five and walking three.
It’s been a struggle of late for St. Louis, which is 4-6 in its past 10 after winning six of its previous eight. The Cardinals haven’t won more than two in a row since a four-game winning streak from June 20-24.
They managed seven hits on Monday, but only two came from the top five hitters in the lineup, both early-game singles.
The Cardinals got a strong start from Andre Pallante in the series opener, but a wild pitch by John King set up Gonzales’ decisive hit.
“That’s why every decision, every pitch, every at-bat seems extremely magnified, because there is no room for error,” St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said postgame. “The margins have been really thin all year. We’ve played a lot of these games, like the one we played tonight. Yeah, one ball in the dirt leads to the runner moving up and it just changes the game a little bit.”
–Field Level Media
